Oiltanking to acquire 20% of Açu Port’s oil terminal

Aug. 24, 2015

Oiltanking GmbH has concluded an agreement with Prumo Logistica SA, which owns and operates the Industrial Complex Açu Port in Brazil, to acquire 20% of Açu Port’s crude oil transshipment facility. This transaction will further strengthen Oiltanking’s position in Brazil and in Latin America as a whole.

As part of the agreement, Oiltanking will operate and manage the terminal’s crude-handling operations. The transshipment terminal has a licensed capacity to handle up to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and is designed to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs). It shares existing infrastructure with Açu Port’s operational iron ore terminal and is scheduled to begin operations in August 2016.

Oiltanking believes that the large-scale crude oil transshipment terminal at Açu Port offers its customers state-of-the-art transshipment facilities, with mineral oil storage, blending, and treatment facilities to be added in the future at world class HSSE standards.

The transshipment terminal will have a great positive impact on the logistics and economics of the petroleum sector in Brazil and will provide an opportunity for increasing efficiency and reducing costs for clients’ oil and gas operations due to its proximity to Brazil’s largest oil fields. The ship-to-ship operation at Açu Port will transfer oil from specialized dynamically positioned shuttle tankers (DPST’s) to conventional vessels, thereby substantially reducing the export freight charge on Brazil's crude oil.

Açu Port is the largest port in the Americas with 17 kilometers of quay, over 90 square kilometers of land, and a channel depth of 24 meters, making it capable of receiving the largest class of oceangoing vessels. Its strategic location near the Campos Basin and Santos Basins, which together account for over 80% of Brazilian crude oil production, makes the port very suitable for servicing the oil and gas industry.

Oiltanking has been active in Brazil since 2008 through its subsidiary Oiltanking Terminais, servicing the fuels distribution sector and providing storage for other bulk liquids at its terminal in Vitória, Espíritu Santo. In addition to Brazil, Oiltanking also owns and operates terminals in four other countries in Latin America--Colombia, Peru, Panama, and Argentina.

Oiltanking GmbH is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls, a Hamburg, Germany-based family-owned company that operates in the fields of energy supply, trading, and logistics. Oiltanking is the second largest independent tank storage provider for petroleum products, chemicals and gases worldwide. The company owns and operates 73 terminals in 22 countries within Europe, North and South America, Middle East, Africa, India as well as in Asia. Oiltanking has an overall storage capacity of 19 million cbm.

Prumo Logistica SA is a Brazilian company engaged in infrastructure and logistics. It owns and operates Açu Port among others. Prumo offers infrastructure solutions for the oil and gas industry in addition to hosting a range of marine, industrial and manufacturing projects at Açu Port.

Prumo has been controlled by majority shareholder EIG Global Energy Partners since 2013. The Açu Port industrial complex, under construction since October 2007, has two port terminals (T1 and T2) and the capacity to handle various types of cargo such as petroleum, iron ore, coal, solid and liquid bulk and general cargo. Açu Port is strategically located in the Southeast of the country, which accounts for approximately 75% of Brazilian GDP. It lies in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 150 kilometers from the Campos Basin.